Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen spoke at the seventh plenary of the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) on the topic “Re-imagining Solutions for Global Peace and Regional Stability”, alongside Malaysian Defence Minister Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.
In his speech, Dr Ng stressed that “If there is any salient epiphany against this backdrop, it must be ‘not here, in Asia’… because we can all agree, that neither Asia nor the world can withstand a third geopolitical shock”.
Dr Ng highlighted the important role of defence establishments in strengthening the regional security architecture. “In this region, ASEAN plays a key role by upholding itself and its partners to the ASEAN Charter. In defence, the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Groups (EWGs) exist to promote military-to-military cooperation for the 18 nations. To date, more than 20 large-scale exercises have been conducted and it is noteworthy that this is the only platform where both US and China militaries participate.”
Dr Ng also hosted a Ministerial Roundtable after speaking at the plenary.
Earlier today, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office of Brunei Darussalam and Minister of Defence II Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (MG)(Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Md Yussof also called on Dr Ng. During the meeting, both Ministers reaffirmed the close and long-standing bilateral defence relationship between Singapore and Brunei and discussed regional security issues and affirmed the importance of bilateral exchanges and close cooperation between both defence establishments.
Dr Ng also met Ukraine Minister of Defence Rustem Umerov and reaffirmed the friendly bilateral defence relations between Ukraine and Singapore. They also discussed the security situation in Europe and regional developments in the Asia-Pacific.
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